Yesterday Deadspin editor Timothy Burke and writer Jack Dickey revealed that Lennay Kekua, girlfriend of star Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o, never existed. Kekua’s supposed death of leukemia in September had become a big part of the Manti Te’o mythos. ESPN, NBC, and any number of other media outlets passed along the story that Te’o missed Kekua’s funeral, at her request, to play against Michigan State, one of the best games of his career. Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly even gave Te’o the game ball in Kekua’s honor. But, as Notre Dame officials learned on December 26, and everyone else learned yesterday afternoon, Kekua was a hoax. We don’t know for sure whether Te’o was in on the hoax (and, if so, what his motivations were for doing so) or whether the Heisman finalist was a victim, suckered into a relationship with a woman who lied about her identity and later staged her alter-ego’s death. Either way, the story of Lennay Kekua is as fascinating as it is absurd. While it is morally reprehensible

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